Drain opener



March 6, 1956 w. G. RAMSEUR DRAIN OPENER Filed June 10, 1954 INVENTOR W6. RAMSEl/R ATTORNEY United States Patent- 2,736,906 DRAIN OPENER WalterG. Rams-eur, St. Petersburg, Fla.

Application June 10, 1954, Serial No. 435,706

1 Claim. (Cl. 4-256) This invention relates to fluid distribution, andmore particularly to the distribution and disposition of water aroundthe home or other habitable buildings. The invention is particularlyconcerned with drainage from a kitchen sink or the like and to theopening of the drain in the event of stoppage.

Heretofore, when the drains of sinks or the like have become stoppednumerous devices have been employed to unstop the same so that wastewater could be discharged through the drain. However, these have notbeen fully satisfactory for various reasons including the complicatednature of the same, the dificulty of use, the unsatisfactory results,and for other reasons.

It is an object of the invention to overcome the above objections and toprovide a simple and inexpensive drain opener which can be readilyattached onto the end of a hose and applied to and held over a drain sothat water may be allowed to How through the hose under pressure tounclog the drain.

Another object of the invention is to provide a drain opener of aminimum number of parts, which is readily applicable to and can beemployed for opening drains of various sizes.

Further objects and advantages of the invention will become apparentfrom the following description taken in conjunction with theaccompanying drawing wherein:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view illustrating one application of theinvention;

Fig. 2, an enlarged perspective view of the drain opener itself:

Fig. 3, a longitudinal section on the line 33 of Fig.

Fig. 4, a bottom plan view, and

Fig. 5, an enlarged side elevation of the coupling employed forfastening the structure to a water hose.

Briefly stated the invention comprises a suction cup or flexible sealingmember and a swivel coupling for connecting the same to a water hose sothat water may be allowed to flow under pressure for dislodgingaccumulation in the drain.

With continued reference to the drawing a basin or sink is adapted to besupplied with water through a faucet 11 by means of controls 12 and 13for hot and cold water. A drain or discharge outlet, not shown, in thebottom of the sink or basin allows waste water to flow from the sink.The discharge of this waste water sometimes is prevented by accumulationin the drain which either completely stops or interrupts the flow ofwater therefrom, rendering it desirable to remove the same in order thatfresh water may be allowed to flow into the sink and be dischargedtherefrom.

A drain opener is provided which includes a suction cup 14 having arelatively thin lower wall portion and a relatively thick upper wallportion with an enlarged sealing face 20 adapted to be pressed intocontact with the bottom of the sink or lavatory about the drain opening.The enlarged sealing face 15 around the bottom of the skirt of thesuction cup is held in contact with the ice sink by pressure appliedmanually to the suction cup and such cup is preferably sufficiently thinthat it will yield sufficiently to conform to the surface to which it isapplied but it is provided with ribs 16 spaced around the inner wall ofthe same to give the necessary rigidity to the structure, such ribsbeing exposed axially of the suction cup.

The upper portion of the suction cup is thickened and provided with anaxial passage or bore for the flow of water therethrough. A coupling isprovided for attaching the suction cup onto the end of the hose 18 whichmay be attached to a faucet on the outside of the house such hosebrought into the house through a window 19.

The coupling by means of which the suction cup is attached to the waterhose comprises a nipple 20 having an external diameter of a size to betightly received within the bore 17 of the suction cup, such bore havinga diameter substantially one fourth its length and with such nipple of alength substantially corresponding to that of the bore 17 in order toprovide a support for the upper heavy or thickened portion of thesuction cup and to insure a good connection therewith. The outer end ofthe nipple 2% is provided with an external flange 21 which engages andseals over the internal flange 22 of a coupling member 23 of suflicientrigidity for its external threads 24 to tightly grip a coupling (notshown) on the end of a water hose 18 through which water under pressuremay be supplied for moving cloggage in the drain. If desired a sealinggasket 25 may be employed to prevent leakage between the nipple 2t andthe coupling 23 or between the flanges 22 and 21.

A ferrule or clamping member may be employed for binding the upper endof the suction cup to the nipple 21 Such clamping member comprises arelatively short sleeve section 26 and reversely bent clamping fingers27 the extremities of which extend inwardly towards the axis of the tube20 and clamp the upper portion of the suction cup against said tube. Thecoupling member 23 may have knurled gripping portions 28 and 29 so itmay be gripped while coupling the same to a water hose.

It will be readily understood that the present invention consists mainlyof a suction cup, a nipple which fits within the same, and a couplingmember rotatably mounted on said nipple so that the device may bereadily attached to a Water hose. The nipple may have internal andexternal surfaces to comply with requirements usually as disclosed thesurfaces being smooth. The length of the nipple and the bore in which itis located are such as to provide a tight joint but that to insure thetension of the nipple in the bore of the suction cup an auxiliaryfastening element may be provided.

The use of the device will be apparent being connected to the end of awater hose it may be placed over a drain and while the skirt of thesuction cup is held in firm contact with the surface of the drain thewater may be permitted to fiow through the water hose under pressure forunclogging the drain.

It will be obvious to those skilled in the art that various changes maybe made in the invention without departing from the spirit and scopethereof, and therefore the invention is not limited by that which isshown in the drawing and described in the specification, but only asindicated in the appended claim.

What is claimed is:

A drain opener comprising a suction cup having a relatively thin lowerwall portion and a relatively thick upper wall portion having an axialbore extending through the thick portion of the wall, said thin wallportion having axially disposed reinforcing ribs spaced around the same,a reinforcing nipple of an external size fitting tightly within saidbore and reinforcing the upper portion of said cup and having its lowerend terminating short of the lower end of the bore, said nipple havingan external flange located exteriorly of said bore, a coupling memherhaving an internal flange seated behind said external flange of thenipple whereby the coupling member and nipple are relatively rotatable,and a reinforcing clamping member for securing said suction cup with thenipple in assembled relation, said reinforcing member comprising aferrule having an inwardly bent sleeve portion in firm and frictionalcontact with said nipple and inner surface of the bore and havingoutwardly extending and inwardly turned clamping fingers compressing theupper portion of the suction cup against said nipple.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Stuberet a1 June 30, 1914 Norton Sept. 18, 1928 Scholtes July 11, 1933 AllenJuly 6, 1937 Schubring Apr. 2, 1940 Walus June 4, 1940 Rettinger Dec.26, 1950

